Interest prediction

ABSTRACT

System and methods for providing access to particular media content. First media content may be output for presentation by a display device. Second media content other than the first media content may be monitored. A determination may be made as to whether the second media content has a priority greater than the first media content. Access to the second media content for presentation by the display device may be provided.

BACKGROUND

The ever-increasing amount and diversity of electronic media content mayallow consumers the flexibility to access various content of interest.It may be difficult, however, for consumers to identify content ofparticular interest from a vast amount of available content.

SUMMARY

This Summary does not in any way limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In an aspect, a method for providing access to particular media contentis disclosed. The method may include outputting first media content forpresentation by a display device. The method may further includemonitoring second media content other than the first media content. Themethod may further include determining that the second media content hasa priority greater than the first media content. The method may furtherinclude providing access to the second media content for presentation bythe display device.

In an aspect, a television receiver is disclosed. The televisionreceiver may include a first module configured to output first mediacontent to a display device for presentation by the display device, andto at least provide access to second media content for presentation bythe display device. The television receiver may further include a secondmodule configured to analyze the second media content, when the firstmedia content is output to the display device, and determine whether thesecond media content has a priority greater than the first mediacontent.

In an aspect, a computing device including at least a processing unitand a system memory connected to the processing unit. The system memorymay include instructions that, when executed by the processing unit,cause the processing unit to implement at least one module to provideaccess to particular media content. The at least one module may beconfigured to output first media content for presentation by a displaydevice. The at least one module may further be configured to monitorsecond media content other than the first media content. The at leastone module may be further configured to determine whether the secondmedia content has a priority greater than the first media content. Theat least one module may further be configured to provide access to thesecond media content for presentation by the display device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of variousembodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features manual may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. When only thefirst reference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 shows an example media content distribution system in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 shows an example block diagram of a television receiver of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 shows an example block diagram of a content engine of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows an example priority listing in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 shows an example method for providing a recommendation of mediacontent.

FIG. 6 shows an example method for providing access to priority mediacontent.

FIG. 7 shows an example computing system or device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for presentingor exposing certain media content to a user based on an interestprediction. Such an implementation may comprise of at least threefeatures in accordance with the present disclosure: interest gathering;channel analysis; and recommendation offering. In general, interestgathering may correspond to the compilation of input, both explicitlyand implicitly, from a user to determine a detailed list of that user'sviewing preferences. Such preferences may include, for example, favoritechannels, events, series, actors, directors, times of day, days of theweek, movies, sports teams, genres, topics, geographical locations, andetc. Channel analysis may correspond to the continuous scanning ofsubscribed channel offerings to identify current and upcoming eventsthat are most likely to be enjoyed by the user based on the users'detailed interests. Subsequently, a comparison may be made of anidentified program(s) to the portion of the program(s) that the user iscurrently watching to identify whether an “interest vacuum” exists. An“interest vacuum” may exist when there is a program on another channelthat a user may prefer to watch over what the user is currentlywatching. Recommendation offering may correspond to using results of thechannel analysis and deciding whether to offer a different program tothe user, taking into account user settings and previous responses torecommendations. In this manner, “recommendation offering” may besimilar to an “interest prediction.”

The ability to make an “interest prediction” may be performed byanalyzing the wealth of information that can be found within viewinghistory of a particular user. Certain patterns in viewing habits may befound in how this data is sorted. For example, when a sort is performedbased on the times (e.g., from 7 PM to 10 PM) that programs are watched,by looking at max/min of the data, a prediction may be made tounderstand when a particular user is more or less likely to be watchingtelevision. A similar analysis may be performed by sorting content bygenre. Here, a prediction may be made as to the type of content theparticular user is interested in. In general, an assumption may be madethat, when a user is watching a channel or a show, the user is at leastpartially interested in the show. A degree to which the user isinterested in the show may be proportional to the amount of time thatthe content is viewed. For example, a higher “interest” confidence maybe assigned to content that is watched in its entirety, as opposed tocontent that is only partially watched such as half of the content.

FIG. 1 shows an example media content distribution system 100 in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be implemented. For brevity, thesystem 100 is depicted in a simplified and conceptual form, and maygenerally include more or fewer systems, devices, networks, and/or othercomponents as desired. Further, number and type of features or elementsincorporated within the system 100 may or may not be implementationspecific, and at least some of the aspects of the system 100 may besimilar to a cable television distribution system, or other type ofmedia or content distribution system. Further, the “television receiver”as described throughout may be any type of television receiver, such asa set-top-box for example. In another example, the “television receiver”may correspond to functionality integrated into a television, a digitalvideo recorder, a tablet, or any other computing system or device, andvariations thereof. Additionally, features and concepts as discussedthroughout the present disclosure may be applicable to any type or formof networked computing system environment, and may not be limited to asatellite television system implementation, a cable television systemimplementation, or other particular implementation.

The example system 100 may include a service provider 102, a satelliteuplink 104, a plurality of orbiting (e.g., geosynchronous) satellites106(a-c), a satellite dish 108, a television receiver 110, a television112, and a pointing device 114. In the present example, the televisionreceiver 110 may at least include content engine 116, and the pointingdevice 114 may at least include a first input control 118 and a secondinput control 120. As discussed in further detail below, the contentengine 116, together with other elements of the example system 100, maybe configured to present or expose certain media content to a user basedon an interest prediction. Additionally, in one embodiment the firstinput control 118 and/or a second input control 120 may comprise of adepressible button incorporated within or on the pointing device 114.Other embodiments are however possible. For example, it is contemplatedthat the first input control 118 and/or a second input control 120 maybe configured to support any type of HMI (Human-Machine Interaction).One example of such an implementation may include VIC (Voice InputControl). Still other embodiments are possible.

The system 100 may also include at least one network 122 thatestablishes a bi-directional communication path for data transferbetween the television receiver 110 and the television 112. In someembodiments, the network 122 may further establish a bi-directionalcommunication path for data transfer between the television receiver 110and the service provider 102 (not shown). In general, the network 122may incorporate or exhibit any number of terrestrial and/ornon-terrestrial network features or elements. For example, the network122 may incorporate or exhibit any number of features or elements ofvarious wireless and/or hardwired packet-based communication networkssuch as, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network) network, a HAN (HomeArea Network) network, a LAN (Local Area Network) network, a WLAN(Wireless Local Area Network) network, the Internet, or other any typeof communication network(s) configured such that data may be transferredamong respective elements of the example system 100.

The television receiver 110, together with the television 112 and thenetwork 122, may form at least a portion of a particular home computingnetwork, and may each be respectively configured such as to enablecommunication(s) in accordance with any particular communicationprotocol(s) and/or standard(s) including, for example, TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), DLNA/DTCP-IP (DigitalLiving Network Alliance/Digital Transmission Copy Protection overInternet Protocol), HDMI/HDCP (High-Definition MultimediaInterface/High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), and others.

In practice, the satellites 106 may be configured to receive uplinksignals 124(a-b) from the satellite uplink 104. In this example, theuplink signals 124 may contain one or more transponder streams ofparticular data or broadcast content (e.g., a particular televisionchannel) that is supplied by the service provider 102. For example, eachof the respective uplink signals 124 may contain various encoded HD(High Definition) television channels, various SD (Standard Definition)television channels, on-demand programming, programming information,and/or any other content in the form of at least one transponder streamand in accordance with an allotted carrier frequency and bandwidth. Inthis example, different television channels may be carried usingdifferent ones of the satellites 106. Different television channels mayalso be carried using different transponders of a particular satellite(e.g., satellite 106 a); thus, such television channels may betransmitted at different frequencies and/or different frequency ranges.For example, a first and second television channel may be carried on afirst carrier frequency over a first transponder of satellite 106 a, anda third, fourth, and fifth television channel may be carried on secondcarrier frequency over a first transponder of satellite 106 b, or, thethird, fourth, and fifth television channel may be carried on a secondcarrier frequency over a second transponder of satellite 106 a, etc.

The satellites 106 may further be configured to relay the uplink signals124 to the satellite dish 108 as downlink signals 126(a-b). Similar tothe uplink signals 124, each of the downlink signals 126(a-b) maycontain one or more transponder streams of particular data or broadcastcontent, such as various encoded and/or electronically scrambledtelevision channels, on-demand programming, etc., in accordance with anallotted carrier frequency and bandwidth. The downlink signals 126,however, may not necessarily contain the same content as a correspondingone of the uplink signals 124. For example, the uplink signal 124 a mayinclude a first transponder stream containing at least a first group oftelevision channels, and the downlink signal 126 a may include a secondtransponder stream containing at least a second, different group oftelevision channels. In other examples, the first and second group oftelevision channels may have one or more television channels in common.In sum, there may be varying degrees of correlation between the uplinksignals 124 and the downlink signals 126, both in terms of content andunderlying characteristics.

Continuing with the example implementation-specific scenario, thesatellite dish 108 may be provided for use (e.g., on a subscriptionbasis) to receive television channels provided by the service provider102, satellite uplink 104, and/or satellites 106. For example, thesatellite dish 108 may be configured to receive particular transponderstreams, or downlink signals (e.g., downlink signals 126), from thesatellites 106. Additionally, the television receiver 110, which iscommunicatively coupled to the satellite dish 108, may subsequentlyselect via tuner (not shown), for example, and relay particulartransponder streams to the television 112 for display thereon asdesired. For example, the satellite dish 108 and the television receiver110 may, respectively, be configured to receive and relay at least onepremium HD-formatted television channel to the television 112. In thisexample, the premium HD channel may be output to the television 112 fromthe television receiver 110 in accordance with the HDMI/HDCP contentprotection technologies.

In example embodiments, the television receiver 110 may be configured tooutput a plurality of interfaces to the television 112. For example, asshown in FIG. 1, the television receiver 110 may be configured to outputan EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) 128 to the television 112. The EPG128 may at least present various information related to televisionchannels and the timing of programs or programming appearing on suchtelevision channels (e.g., as received from satellites 106). Forexample, the EPG 128 may at least display channel information associatedwith a channel “2009,” where in the present example a movie, “TheNotebook,” is listed as scheduled to appear on the channel “2009” duringa particular time period “8-10 PM” of a particular day, etc.

The EPG 128 may at least further display channel information associatedwith a channel “2012,” where in the present example a sporting event“Broncos vs. Ravens” is listed as scheduled to appear on the channel“2012” during a particular time period “8-10:30 PM.” In this example,and assuming that a “current” time is sometime during the particulartime period “8-10:00 PM,” a user may manipulate a cursor 130 using thepointing device 114 to select “The Notebook,” or the “Broncos vs.Ravens,” for immediate viewing on the television 112. For example, theuser may manipulate the cursor 130 using the pointing device 114 toselect the “Broncos vs. Ravens” via actuation of the first input control118, in accordance with a “point and click” gesture or action. Otherembodiments are possible.

In this example, and for purpose of discussion, the “Broncos vs. Ravens”is intended to be shown as “playing” within a pane 132 on the television112. Here, the “Broncos vs. Ravens” broadcast may have been selected,for example, for display within the pane 132 on the television 112during a break in broadcast, such as a commercial break, of “TheNotebook” as appearing on channel “2009.” In one example, the contentengine 116 of the television receiver 110 may be configured to initiallyestimate or otherwise determine that “The Notebook” is likely orprobably of greater importance or priority to one or more users viewingthe “Broncos vs. Ravens” as “playing” within the pane 132 on thetelevision 112. In general, this may be performed prior to a resuming inbroadcast, such as prior to the end of the commercial break, of “TheNotebook” as appearing on channel “2009.”

In other words, the content engine 116 may determine that someonewatching the “Broncos vs. Ravens” may in fact be more interested inwatching “The Notebook.” The content engine 116 may then output withinthe pane 132 an interface 134 requesting input as to whether apotentially interested user would like to “Watch The Notebook?” Theuser(s) may then optionally select, or not, “The Notebook” for immediateviewing on the television 112. For example, the user may manipulate thecursor 130 using the pointing device 114 to select a confirmation button136 to select “The Notebook” for immediate viewing on the television112. In another scenario, the user may manipulate the cursor 130 usingthe pointing device 114 to select a disregard button 138 to decline theoption for immediate viewing of “The Notebook.” In event of selection ofthe confirmation button 136, “The Notebook” may be displayed within thepane 132 for immediate viewing, otherwise the “Broncos vs. Ravens” maybe continued to be displayed.

In the above example, the content engine 116 may be understood topresent or expose certain media content to a user based on an interestprediction. For example, in one embodiment, the content engine 116 maysubstantially monitor all broadcast content received by the televisionreceiver 110, and present or expose certain media content to the user inview certain profile information associated with the user, or an accountassociated with the user, such as an customer account used by theservice provider 102 to bill for provided services.

For example, referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of the televisionreceiver 110 of FIG. 1 is shown. In particular, the television receiver110 may include the content engine 116 and a communication interface140. For brevity, the television receiver 110 is depicted in asimplified and conceptual form, and may generally include more or fewerelements or components as desired. For example, the television receiver110 may be configured to include any number of other various componentsor logical modules that are implemented in hardware, software, firmware,or any combination thereof, and such components or logical modules mayor may not be implementation-specific.

For example, the television receiver 110 may in certain implementationsbe configured to include one or more tuners, one or more networkinterfaces, at least one NIT (Network Information Table), one or moreother DVR (Digital Video Recorder)-related components, at least onedemultiplexer, at least one smart card, at least one descramblingengine, and other various modules or components consistent with, forexample, at least one of a set-top-box implementation, a televisionimplementation, a DVR implementation, a tablet computer implementation,or any other computing system or device implementation. Still othervariations of the television receiver 110 are possible. For example, thetelevision receiver 110 may include one or more logical modulesconfigured to implement a TV steaming media functionality that encodesvideo into a particular format for transmission over the Internet suchas to allow users to remotely view and control a home cable, satellite,or personal video recorder system from an Internet-enabled computer witha broadband Internet connection.

In the present example, the content engine 116 may include a selectionmodule 142, an evaluation module 144, a profile module 146, a controllermodule 148, and an interface generator 150. Other embodiments arepossible. For example, the content engine 116 may generally include moreor fewer modules configured to implement one or more aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, one or more modules of the contentengine 116 may be wholly or at least partially incorporated within oneor more other modules of the content engine 116. Further, one or moremodules of the content engine 116 may be wholly or at least partiallyincorporated within one or more other special-purpose computing systemsor devices within the example system 100. For example, one or moremodules of the content engine 116 may be wholly or at least partiallyincorporated within or on the service provider 102 and/or the televisionreceiver 110 of FIG. 1. Still other embodiments are possible.

The communication interface 140 of the television receiver 110 may beconfigured to enable the transfer of data or information with andbetween compatibly configured devices via multiple differentcommunication channels, and types of communication channels, some ofwhich may be implementation specific. For example, the communicationinterface 140 may be configured to communicate or otherwise exchangeinformation with the television 112 over the network 122. In anotherexample, while a primary communication channel may exist between thetelevision receiver 110 and the service provider 102 via satellites 106(which may be unidirectional to the television receiver 110), thecommunication interface 140 may be configured to communicate orotherwise exchange information with the service provider 102 over anetwork (not shown) established between the television receiver 110 andthe service provider 102, similar to the network 122. In still anotherexample, the communication interface 140 may be configured tocommunicate or otherwise exchange information with any type or varietyof peripheral computing device such as, for example, a USB (UniversalSerial Bus) device, removable memory card, smartphone device, video gameconsole, and many others.

In practice, the selection module 142 may receive “broadcast content.”For example, the selection module 142 may receive various televisionchannels as provided by the service provider 102, satellite uplink 104,and/or satellites 106, via the satellite dish 108, as described above inconnection with FIG. 1. Upon receipt of the broadcast content, theselection module 142 may select and pass “tuned content” to thecontroller module 148. For example, the selection module 142 may passaudio/video content associated with the sporting event “Broncos vs.Ravens” to the controller module 148, following user-selection of thisprogramming for display on the television 112 using the pointing device114.

The selection module 142 may additionally select and pass the broadcastcontent to the evaluation module 144. Upon receipt of the broadcastcontent, the evaluation module 144 may extract and analyze variousmetadata associated with the broadcast content. For example, and asdescribed in further detail below in connection with FIG. 3, theevaluation module 144 may extract and analyze various “tags” associatedwith “The Notebook,” where a particular tag may specify, for example,content title: “The Notebook,” showing time: “8-10 PM,” leading actress:“Rachel McAdams,” scheduled commercial start/end times, and many othertypes of metadata associated with the movie “The Notebook.”

Upon extraction and analysis of metadata associated with the broadcastcontent, the evaluation module 144 may query the profile module 146 andcompare the metadata associated with the broadcast content withparticular preference and/or priority information. This particularpreference and/or priority information may be associated with at leastone user or user account associated with the television receiver 110.When a preference and/or priority with respect to particular content ofthe broadcast content is established or identified, referred to as“matching information” within FIG. 2, the evaluation module 144 mayselect and pass “priority content,” along with a “control signal”indicating presence of the priority content, to the controller module148.

As described in further detail below in connection with FIG. 3, thecontrol signal may further indicate whether an “automatic” channelswitch to the priority content is to be performed by the content engine116, or if an interface (e.g., interface 134) requesting input as towhether a potentially interested user would like to watch the prioritycontent is to be output to television 112. In the present example, it isassumed the control signal further indicates that an interfacerequesting input as to whether a potentially interested user would liketo watch the priority content is to be output to television 112.

For example, the evaluation module 144 may query the profile module 146and determine that, based on identified matching information, at leastone user or user account associated with the television receiver 110 isat least probably, or likely, interested in movies starring leadingactress “Rachel McAdams.” The evaluation module 144 may then pass audioand/or video of “The Notebook” the priority content, along with thecontrol signal, to the controller module 148. The controller module 148may then query the interface generator 150 to retrieve data associatedwith an interface that specifies “The Notebook” is nearly, or currently,available for viewing. The interface may at least support user input asto whether a potentially interested user would like to watch “TheNotebook.” For example, the controller module 148 may retrieve dataassociated with the interface 134 of FIG. 1.

Upon receipt of the data associated with the interface, the controllermodule 148 may pass “display content” to the communication interface140. The communication interface 140 may subsequently pass the displaycontent to the television 112 for display on the television 112. In thepresent example, the display content may comprise of the tuned contentalong with the interface. For example, the communication interface 140may pass audio/video content associated with the “Broncos vs. Ravens,”along with the interface 134, to the television 112 for display on thetelevision 112. A user may then optionally select, or not, “TheNotebook” for immediate viewing on the television 112. Other embodimentsare possible.

As discussed above, the evaluation module 144 may extract and analyzemetadata associated with broadcast content as received by the evaluationmodule 144. In particular, the evaluation module 144 may extract andanalyze one or more tags associated with broadcast content as receivedby the evaluation module 144. Referring now to FIG. 3, the contentengine 116 of FIG. 2 is shown in further detail. In particular, FIG. 3shows the evaluation module 144, profile module 146, and controllermodule 148 of the content engine 116.

Continuing with the example implementation-specific scenario of FIG. 1,the broadcast content as received by the evaluation module 144 may atleast include a stream or sequence of video data packets correspondingto multiple television channels. Among a plurality of other information,each respective video packet may contain a PID (Packet Identifier) thatmay identify or otherwise associate a particular packet with particularcontent and a particular television channel. For example, a particularvideo packet 152 of the stream or sequence of video data packets asreceived by the evaluation module 144 may be associated with “TheNotebook,” and channel “2009.” Each video packet may further include aplurality of tags encoded within the video packet that describe contentwithin the video packet.

In particular, the plurality of tags may include or specify anyconceivable type of aspect or attribute of content within a particularpacket (e.g., video packet 152) including, but not limited to: ShowTitle; Showing Time; Original Air Date/Time, which may be used todetermine whether a particular show is a re-run; Genre, such as comedy,drama, action, horror, news, etc.; General Key Words, such as, forexample, for a presidential debate, “debate,” “2012 elections,” “Obama,”“Romney,” “Republican,” “Democrat,” “politics,” “foreign policy,” andetc., where such keywords may be taken as a whole, or at least in part,and may embody topics covered in the show; Real Time Keywords, which maybe useful for news stations, such as, for example, “from 37 to 43,”“healthcare,” “ObamaCare,” “individual mandate,” “pre-existingconditions,” “politics,” based on knowledge that “CNN is going to coverhealthcare bill from 37 to 43 minutes into the broadcast.”

Additionally, Real Time Keywords might be segmented according to “type”such as, for example, “people” type, “topic” type, “location” type, andothers. This may not only allow a customer to refine keyword searches,but may also allow the television receiver 110 to tailor a suggestionaccording to an importance placed on each “type.” Many other metadata ortags are possible as well. Additionally, and as described in furtherdetail below, information associated with such tags within a particularvideo packet may be compared with preference and/or priority informationassociated with at least one user or user account, and may be used toquantify or otherwise estimate potential user interest in video contentwithin a particular video packet.

In the example of FIG. 3, the evaluation module 144 may include a packetanalysis module 154, a packet selection module 156, and a control signalmodule 158. The profile module 146 may include a priority content module160 and training module 162. The controller module 148 may include adisplay content module 164. Other embodiments are possible. For example,one or more modules of at least one of the evaluation module 144,profile module 146, and controller module 148 may be wholly or at leastpartially incorporated within one or more other modules of the contentengine 116, and etc.

In practice, the example video packet 152 may be received by theevaluation module 144. The packet analysis module 154 of the evaluationmodule 144 may extract and analyze particular tags embedded within thevideo packet 152. For example, assuming the video packet 152 isassociated with “The Notebook,” the packet analysis module 154 maydetermine identify a particular “tag” that specifies one of, forexample, content title: The Notebook, showing time: 8-10 PM, leadingactress: Rachel McAdams, scheduled commercial start/end times, etc. Theevaluation module 144 may then query the profile module 146 and compareextracted information with preference and/or priority information asstored within the priority content module 160. For example, the profilemodule 146 may include or otherwise specify “Rachel McAdams” within thepreference and/or priority information, and the evaluation module 144may match this information with the particular tag “leading actress:Rachel McAdams” within the video packet 152.

Upon making the “match” in this example scenario, the evaluation module144 may determine that at a particular user is at least probably orlikely interested in movies starring leading actress “Rachel McAdams,”the packet selection module 156 of the evaluation module 144 may thenselect and pass the video packet 152 to the controller module 148. Inaddition, the control signal module 158 of the evaluation module 144 mayselect and pass a control signal to the controller module 148. In thisexample, the control signal may indicate to the controller module 148that the packet selection module 156 of the evaluation module 144intends to pass the video packet 152 to the controller module 148. Thecontrol signal may further indicate to the controller module 148 whetheran automatic channel switch to “The Notebook” is to be performed by thecontent engine 116, or whether the interface 134 is to be output totelevision 112. This indication or instruction may be stored within thepriority content module 160 based on, or lack of, user input.

For example, referring now additionally to FIG. 1, a user may manipulatethe cursor 130 using the pointing device 114 to select an enable button168 that when selected may indicate to the controller module 148 that anautomatic channel switch to particular priority content (e.g., “TheNotebook”) is to be performed by the content engine 116. Continuing withthe above example, the display content module 164 of the controllermodule 148 may output to the television 112 the particular video packet152 as display content, effectively tuning the television receiver 110from the channel associated with the sporting event “Broncos vs.Ravens,” to the channel associated with “The Notebook.” In contrast, theenable button 168 when deselected or otherwise unselected may indicateto the controller module 148 to retrieve data associated with theinterface 134. In this example, the display content module 164 of thecontroller module 148 may output to the television 112 the interface134, as well as the tuned content, as the display content, such that theuser may continue to watch the “Broncos vs. Ravens,” while having theoption of watching “the Notebook” if desired. Other embodiments arepossible.

As mentioned above, the content engine 116, together with other elementsof the example system 100, may be configured to present or exposecertain media content to a user based on an interest prediction. Inexample embodiments, this may be a function of preference and/orpriority information as stored within the priority content module 160.Such preference and/or priority information as stored within thepriority content module 160 may be continuously updated based on atleast one of manual user input and monitored user behavior. For example,the training module 162 of the profile module 146 may periodically or atleast intermittently determine user behavior and extrapolate the userbehavior into an estimation or prediction regarding user preference withrespect to broadcast programming. The estimation or prediction may bequantified as a “ranking” or “priority.”

For example, the training module 162 may automatically resolve thatevery Thursday evening a particular user tunes-in to particularprogramming appearing on a particular television channel. In thisexample, the training module 162 may establish or assign a relatively“high” priority to the particular programming as broadcast at theparticular date/time, and populate the priority content module 160 withsuch information. In other words, the content engine 116 may determineis interested in the particular programming. Subsequently, when theparticular programming is broadcast, the content module 116 may eitherperform an automatic channel switch to the particular programming, oroutput an interface requesting input as to whether the particular userwould like to watch the priority content, in a manner such as describedabove.

In another example, the training module 162 may resolve, by manualinput, that every Thursday evening the particular user tunes-in toparticular programming appearing on a particular television channel. Inthis example, and referring now additionally to FIG. 1, a user maymanipulate the cursor 130 using the pointing device 114 to select anedit preference button 170 that when selected may indicate to thetraining module 162 that a user desires to manually enter preferenceand/or priority information for storage within the priority contentmodule 160. It may be understood that express, manual user input may asto preference and/or priority information may at least initially be moresignificant and accurate than “learning” based on user behavior. Otherembodiments of manual user input are possible as well.

For example, still referring to FIG. 1, and assuming that an automaticchannel switch to “The Notebook” has recently been performed by thecontent engine 116, a user may actuate the second input control 120 toreturn (e.g., “return to previous channel button”) to the sporting event“Broncos vs. Ravens.” In this example, it may be inferred by thetraining module 162 that the movie “The Notebook” is currently of“higher” priority or interest than the sporting event “Broncos vs.Ravens.” An automatic channel switch to the “The Notebook” during thesporting event “Broncos vs. Ravens” may be suppressed for the durationof the game. Further details associated with the training module 162 arediscussed below in connection with at least FIG. 6.

As mentioned above, a user may manipulate the cursor 130 using thepointing device 114 to select the edit preference button 170 that whenselected may indicate to the training module 162 that a user desires tomanually enter preference and/or priority information for storage withinthe priority content module 160. Referring now to FIG. 4, an examplepriority listing 172 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure.In this example, the priority listing 172 may be presented within thepane 132 on the television 112 following selection of the editpreference button 170. Here, the priority listing 172 displayspreference and/or priority information including a rank or ranking ofparticular programs, where a user may provide manual input to modify ordefine the rank or ranking of particular programs.

For example, a user may enter and designate, indicated by intermittentlines in FIG. 4, that “New episodes of Futurama” are of primaryinterest. Subsequently, when the show of “Futurama” is broadcast, thecontent module 116 may either perform an automatic channel switch to the“Futurama”, or output an interface requesting input as to whether theuser would like to watch the show “Futurama.” In event of a “conflict,”such as for example when “News about severe weather” and the show of“Futurama” are concurrently broadcast, the content module 116 may selectthe content of greater priority and either perform an automatic channelswitch to the “Futurama”, or output an interface requesting input as towhether the user would like to watch the show “Futurama.” Additionally,a user may “swap” positions of rank or ranking of particular programswithin the priority listing 172. For example, a user may determine atsome point that “News about severe weather” is of greater importance orpriority than the show “Futurama,” as indicated by the “swap” arrow inFIG. 4. Other embodiments and/or implementations of the priority listing172 are possible as well.

For example, a “preferred” action may be included for each item in thepriority listing 172 to identify what to do when a particular item isidentified. An example of a “preferred” action may include “autoswitch,” “ask for switch,” “simple pop-up,” “pre-tune,” “turn on TV,”and etc. In another example, an option may be added to the prioritylisting 172 to add a new manual priority with listing of potential fieldtypes such as, for example, genre, time, actor, and etc.). In anotherexample, an option may be added to the priority listing 172 to delete alisting. An option may be added to the priority listing 172 to edit anexisting entry. For example, a user might want to change the time ofcartoons to “8:00 AM.” In another example, an option may be added to thepriority listing 172 to add a flag for each item to identify whether theitem was system created or user created. Such an implementation may helpa user to sort his/her selections versus system actions. In anotherexample, an option may be added to the priority listing 172 to access a“Priority Settings” menu, where a user may select preferences such as,for example, default settings, maximum listings, and etc. Still otherembodiments and/or implementations of the priority listing 172 arepossible as well.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an example method 500 for providing arecommendation of media content is shown in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure. The method 500 is described asimplemented by or on the television receiver 110 of FIG. 1. However,other embodiments are however possible. For example, one or more modulesor steps of the example method 600 may be implemented by one or more ofthe other respective devices or components within the example system 100as described above.

At step 502, the television receiver 110 may provide to the television112 first media content for presentation by the television 112. Forexample, the television receiver 110 may pass to television 112audio/video content associated with “The Notebook” for presentation bythe television 112. At step 504, the television receiver 110 may receivefrom the pointing device 114 indication of selection of second mediacontent for presentation by the television 112. For example, thetelevision receiver 110 may receive from the pointing device 114indication of selection of the “Broncos vs. Ravens” for presentation bythe television 112. Other embodiments are possible.

At step 506, the television receiver 110 may, concurrently withproviding to the television 112 the second media content forpresentation by the television 112, monitor status of the first mediacontent. For example, a user may have tuned-in to the second mediacontent during a break in broadcast of the first media content and, atstep 506, the television receiver 110 may monitor status of the break inbroadcast of the first media content. For example, a user may havechanged channels to watch “Broncos vs. Ravens” upon a commercial breakduring broadcast of “The Notebook.” At step 506, the television receiver110 may thus monitor status of the commercial break during broadcast of“The Notebook.” Other embodiments are possible.

At step 508, the television receiver 110 may provide to the television112 the second media content for presentation by the television 112. Forexample, the television receiver 110 may pass to television 112audio/video content associated with the “Broncos vs. Ravens” forpresentation by the television 112. In some embodiments, process flowmay proceed from step 506 to step 507, indicated by intermittent linesin FIG. 5, prior to step 508. At step 507, the television receiver 110may provide to the television 112 data associated with a user interfaceto enable optional viewing or other interaction with the second mediacontent. Such an implementation may be beneficial in many respects. Inparticular, a user may have the ability at this point to pursue manyoptions such as, for example, watching the second media content, settinga recording for the second media content, continued watching of thefirst media content, setting the second media content as a priority, andetc. In this manner, the user is engaged and has many options other thansimply switching to the second media content.

At step 510, the television receiver 110 may identify resuming ofbroadcast of the first media content. For example, the televisionreceiver 110 may identify one or more tags within one or morecommercials of the commercial break during broadcast of “The Notebook,”and determine a particular time at which a resuming in broadcast of “TheNotebook” is to commence. In some embodiments, this may be identifiedprior to resuming of broadcast of “The Notebook,” such that thetelevision receiver 110 may provide adequate notification to the userprior to resuming of the “The Notebook.” Other embodiments are possible.

At step 512, the television receiver 110 may provide to the television112 data associated with a user interface to enable a timely return tothe first media content for presentation by the television 112. Forexample, the television receiver 110 may pass to television 112 dataassociated with the interface 134 for presentation by the television112. In this example, the user may then optionally select, or not, “TheNotebook” for immediate viewing on the television 112. For example, atstep 514, the television receiver 110 may optionally provide to thetelevision 112 the first media content for presentation by thetelevision 112, based on an optional selection by a user For example,the user may manipulate the cursor 130 using the pointing device 114 toselect a confirmation button 136 to select the movie “The Notebook” forimmediate viewing on the television 112, or a select a disregard button138 to decline the option for immediate viewing of the “The Notebook.”In event of selection of the confirmation button 136, “The Notebook” maybe displayed within the pane 132 for immediate viewing, otherwise thesporting event “Broncos vs. Ravens” may be continued to be displayed.

It is contemplated that example method 500 may be applicable forproviding a recommendation of any particular media content type. Exampletypes of media may include advertising media, broadcast media, socialmedia, news media, and the like. Additionally, the recommendation may beof a “cross-media” type where for, example, a first particular mediatype may correspond to broadcast media, and a second particular mediatype may correspond to social media, and etc. Still other embodimentsare possible.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an example method 600 for providing access topriority media content is shown in accordance with the principles of thepresent disclosure. The method 600 is described as implemented by or onthe television receiver 110 of FIG. 1. However, other embodiments arehowever possible. For example, one or more modules or steps of theexample method 600 may be implemented by one or more of the otherrespective devices or components within the example system 100 asdescribed above.

At step 602, the television receiver 110 may receive preference and/orpriority information that is associated with a user(s), or an accountassociated with the user(s). Such an implementation may be constantlyoccurring. For example, the television receiver 110 may continuouslyanalyze real-time “tags” for every packet in a data stream and makepriority decisions. For example, the television receiver 110 may countthe number of tags being consumed that “Rachel McAdams” exists in. Uponreaching a certain threshold, the television receiver 110 may update thepriority content module 160.

In another example, the television receiver 110 may monitor userbehavior with respect to access of broadcast programming, and determinethat the television receiver 110 is currently tuned-in, and passingaudio/video to the television 112, to an episode of “Futurama,”indicating the show “Futurama” is likely or probably of interest to aparticular user. In another example, the television receiver 110 mayreceive via manual input that “New episodes of Futurama” are of primaryinterest to a particular user. Other embodiments are possible.

At step 604, the television receiver 110 may update the priority contentmodule 160 (see FIG. 3) based on the preference and/or priorityinformation received at step 602. For example, the television receiver110 may determine that, based upon historical usage information, everyThursday for the past several weeks the television receiver 110 istuned-in, and passing audio/video to the television 112, to an episodeof “Futurama.” The television receiver 110 may then assign a particular“ranking” or “priority” to the show “Futurama,” and update the prioritycontent module 160 to indicate that this show is likely or probably ofimportance or priority to a particular user. In another example, thetelevision receiver 110 may assign the show “Futurama” a “highestranking” or “top priority,” and update the priority content module 160to indicate that this show is of primary importance or priority to aparticular user, based on manual input by the particular user. Otherembodiments are possible.

At step 606, the television receiver 110 may identify currently“playing” broadcast programming. For example, the television receiver110 may determine the “Broncos vs. Ravens” is currently beingpassed/displayed to the television 112. At step 608, the televisionreceiver 110 may make a determination, concurrently with the “playing”broadcast programming, as to whether particular priority content isavailable for viewing. For example, the television receiver 110 maymonitor at least channel “2009,” and make a determination that “TheNotebook” is currently being broadcast based on an analysis of one ormore tags embedded within the broadcast content. The television receiver110 may then query the priority content module 160 to determine whethera “match” may be made between preference and/or priority within thepriority content module 160, and information associated with the one ormore tags. Other embodiments are possible.

Upon determining at step 608 that particular priority content is notcurrently available for viewing, flow may optionally (indicated byintermittent lines in FIG. 6) branch to one of step 602 and step 606. Inthis manner, the example method 600 may continuously update or “train”the priority content module 160, as well as continuously determinewhether broadcast content that is at least likely or certain to be ofgreater interest than currently playing content is available forviewing. In other words, the example method 600 may continuously presentor expose certain programming to a user based on an interest prediction.

Upon determining at step 608 that particular priority content iscurrently available for viewing, flow may branch to step 610. At step610, the television receiver 110 may provide access to the particularpriority content. For example, the television receiver 110 may implementan automatic channel switch to “The Notebook” from the Broncos vs.Ravens,” or output the interface 134 to television 112 such that a usermay choose whether or not to switch from the Broncos vs. Ravens” to “TheNotebook.” Other embodiments are possible.

Further scenarios and beneficial aspects associated with presenting orexposing certain media content to a user based on an interest predictionare possible in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, thetelevision receiver 110 may record a history of recommendations thathave been given via the interface 134, along with associated details foreach (e.g., channel, event, actor, etc.). This information may then beperiodically passed back to the service provider 102 via a feedbackchannel. Such recommendations may be essentially understood to be a formof organic advertising, so each recommendation could be monetized by anentity or corporation that offers satellite services, and at leastdesigns, develops, and distributes components, such as the televisionreceiver 110, for pay television providers back to an original serviceprovider for advertising a particular event on their service to theconsumer.

Further, a station may derive funding from commercials that they includein their video feeds. In general, in order to increase advertisementrevenue, more people need to tune-in. One example way to obtainviewership may include having interesting programs that people want towatch. However, including tags such as described throughout the presentdisclosure may be an alternative means to drive people to a particularstation/programming. In this manner, an entity or corporation thatoffers satellite services, for example, may charge content providers forthe opportunity to include tags in their stream.

In still other examples, the television receiver 110 may “create” an“interest vacuum” by maintaining a “blacklist.” For example, and similarto how the priority listing 172 may identify items that customer may beinterested in watching, the “blacklist” may identify items that acustomer is not interested in watching. For example, a particularcustomer may dislike a particular actor. In this example, the actor'sname may be populated within the “blacklist.” If the particular actorappeared in a show that the customer was watching, it would identifythis as an “interest vacuum,” similar to a commercial, and at leastattempt to switch to a program with a “higher priority.” Such a“blacklist” may be user-defined.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an embodiment of an example computer system ordevice 700 is shown. An example of a computer system or device includesan enterprise server, blade server, desktop computer, laptop computer,personal data assistant, smartphone, gaming console, set-top-box, andany other type machine for performing calculations. The computer system700 may be wholly or at least partially incorporated as part ofpreviously-described computing devices, such as at least the televisionreceiver 110, the television 112, and the pointing device 114 of FIG. 1.The example computer device 700 may be configured to perform and/orinclude instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system 700to perform the method of FIGS. 5-6, and or generate or otherwiseinstantiate the interface 134 of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is intended only toprovide a generalized illustration of various components, any or all ofwhich may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 7, therefore, broadlyillustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in arelatively separated or relatively more integrated manner.

The computer device 700 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 702 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include aprocessing unit with one or more processors 704, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like); one or more inputdevices 706, which can include without limitation a remote control, amouse, a keyboard, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 708,which can include without limitation a presentation device (e.g.,television), a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 700 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 710, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devicesmay be configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer device 700 might also include a communications subsystem712, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 712 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example),other computer systems, and/or any other devices described herein. Inmany embodiments, the computer system 700 will further comprise aworking memory 714, which can include a RAM or ROM device, as describedabove.

The computer device 700 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 714, including anoperating system 716, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 718, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed above,and/or system components might be implemented as code and/orinstructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor within acomputer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be usedto configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device)to perform one or more operations in accordance with the describedmethods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 710 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 700.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as flash memory), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure, and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the computer device 700and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system 700 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.), then takes theform of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer device 700) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 700 in response to processor 704executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 716 and/or other code, such asan application program 718) contained in the working memory 714. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 714 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the storage device(s)710. Merely by way of example, execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in the working memory 714 may cause theprocessor(s) 704 to perform one or more procedures of the methodsdescribed herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer device 700, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)704 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as the storagedevice(s) 710. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamicmemory, such as the working memory 714.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip orcartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can readinstructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 704for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 700.

The communications subsystem 712 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 702 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 714, from which the processor(s) 704 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 714 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device710 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 704.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various method steps orprocedures, or system components as appropriate. For instance, inalternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and/or various stages may be added,omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect tocertain configurations may be combined in various other configurations.Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined ina similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of theelements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure orclaims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Furthermore, the example embodiments described herein may be implementedas logical operations in a computing device in a networked computingsystem environment. The logical operations may be implemented as: (i) asequence of computer implemented instructions, steps, or program modulesrunning on a computing device; and (ii) interconnected logic or hardwaremodules running within a computing device.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing access to particular mediacontent, comprising: receiving, by a television receiver, a plurality ofconcurrent media content from a service provider, including at least afirst media content and a second media content, wherein each of theplurality of media content comprises a stream or sequence of videopackets including one or more real-time metadata tags embedded withinthe video packets such that the real-time metadata tags are not outputwhen the media content is output by an output device, and wherein eachreal-time metadata tag is associated with a specific time period duringthe media content; outputting, by a television receiver, the first mediacontent for presentation by a display device; monitoring the stream orsequence of video packets of the second media content, and extracting,by the television receiver, one or more real-time metadata tags from thevideo packets of the second media content, during the output of thefirst media content; retrieving, by the television receiver, a prioritylisting associated with a first user of the television receiver;comparing, by the television receiver, the real-time metadata tagsextracted from the video packets of the second media content to thepriority listing associated with the first user; determining, by thetelevision receiver, based on the comparison of the real-time metadatatags extracted from the video packets of the second media content to thepriority listing associated with the first user, whether the secondmedia content has a priority greater than the first media content; andproviding access, by the television receiver, to the second mediacontent for presentation by the display device, in place of the firstmedia content when the second media content has greater priority thanthe first media content.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein providingaccess to the second media content in place of the first media contentcomprises: outputting an interface identifying the second media content,while the first media content is being displayed on the display device;receiving, via the interface, indication of selection of an acceptaccess option; and outputting the second media content for presentationby the display device, in response to the selection of the accept accessoption.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising modifying priorityof at least the second media content in response to receiving indicationof selection of the accept access option.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein providing access to the second media content in place of thefirst media content comprises: outputting an interface identifying thesecond media content, while the first media content is being displayedon the display device; receiving, via the interface, indication ofselection of a refuse access option; and continuing outputting the firstmedia content for presentation by the display device, in response to theselection of the refuse access option.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising modifying the priority of the second media content inresponse to receiving indication of selection of the refuse accessoption.
 6. A computing device, comprising: a processing unit; and asystem memory connected to the processing unit, the system memoryincluding instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, causethe processing unit to implement at least one module to provide accessto particular media content, the at least one module configured to:receive a plurality of concurrent media content from a service provider,including at least a first media content and a second media content,wherein each of the plurality of media content comprises a stream orsequence of video packets including one or more real-time metadata tagsembedded within the video packets such that the real-time metadata tagsare not output when the media content is output by an output device, andwherein each real-time metadata tag is associated with a specific timeperiod during the media content; output the first media content forpresentation by a display device; monitor the stream or sequence ofvideo packets of the second media content, and extract one or morereal-time metadata tags from the video packets of the second mediacontent, during the output of the first media content; retrieve apriority listing associated with a first user of the computing device;compare the real-time metadata tags extracted from the video packets ofthe second media content to the priority listing associated with thefirst user; determine, based on the comparison of the real-time metadatatags extracted from the video packets of the second media content to thepriority listing associated with the first user, whether the secondmedia content has a priority greater than the first media content; andprovide access to the second media content for presentation by thedisplay device in place of the first media content when the second mediacontent has greater priority than the first media content.
 7. Thecomputing device of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is furtherconfigured to: modify priority of the first media content, and thesecond media content, based on and in response to receiving anindication of selection of an accept access option or a refuse accessoption.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: tracking, by thetelevision receiver, the viewing habits of the first user over a periodof time, prior to receiving the first media content and the second mediacontent from the service provider; and generating and storing, by thetelevision receiver, the priority listing associated with the firstuser, based on the tracking of the viewing habits of the first user overthe period of time.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:tracking, by the television receiver, the viewing habits of a seconduser over the period of time; and generating and storing, by thetelevision receiver, a second priority listing associated with thesecond user, based on the tracking of the viewing habits of the seconduser over the period of time, wherein the television receiver stores aplurality of separate priority listings corresponding to differentusers.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by thetelevision receiver, user input from the first user identifying a set ofcharacteristics of media content; and generating and storing, by thetelevision receiver, the priority listing associated with the firstuser, based on the set of characteristics of media content received fromthe first user.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:retrieving a blacklist of terms associated with the first user, whereinthe blacklist of terms is separate from the priority listing associatedwith the first user; and comparing the real-time metadata tags extractedfrom the video packets of the second media content to the blacklist ofterms associated with the first user, wherein the determination ofwhether the second media content has a priority greater than the firstmedia content is further based on the comparison of the real-timemetadata tags extracted from the video packets of the second mediacontent to the blacklist of terms associated with the first user. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein the first media content is of a firstcontent type, and wherein the second media content is of second contenttype different from the first media type.
 13. The computing device ofclaim 6, wherein the at least one module is further configured to: trackthe viewing habits of the first user over a period of time, prior toreceiving the first media content and the second media content from theservice provider; and generate and store the priority listing associatedwith the first user, based on the tracking of the viewing habits of thefirst user over the period of time.
 14. The computing device of claim13, wherein the at least one module is further configured to: track theviewing habits of a second user over the period of time; and generateand store a second priority listing associated with the second user,based on the tracking of the viewing habits of the second user over theperiod of time, wherein the computing device stores a plurality ofseparate priority listings corresponding to different users.
 15. Thecomputing device of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is furtherconfigured to: receive user input from the first user identifying a setof characteristics of media content; and generate and store the prioritylisting associated with the first user, based on the set ofcharacteristics of media content received from the first user.
 16. Thecomputing device of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is furtherconfigured to: retrieve a blacklist of terms associated with the firstuser, wherein the blacklist of terms is separate from the prioritylisting associated with the first user; and compare the real-timemetadata tags extracted from the video packets of the second mediacontent to the blacklist of terms associated with the first user,wherein the determination of whether the second media content has apriority greater than the first media content is further based on thecomparison of the real-time metadata tags extracted from the videopackets of the second media content to the blacklist of terms associatedwith the first user.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the oneor more real-time metadata tags extracted from the video packets of thesecond media content includes: one or more keywords relating to thebroadcast content of the second media content; and a time range withinthe broadcast of the second media content during which the one or morekeywords apply.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the streamor sequence of video packets of the second media content and extractingthe real-time metadata tags comprises: analyzing every video packet inthe stream or sequence of video packets of the second media content, todetect the presences of real-time metadata tags; counting the number ofreal-time metadata tags that contain a particular keyword within aplurality of video packets; comparing the number of real-time metadatatags that contain the particular keyword to a predetermined threshold;and in response to determining that the number of real-time metadatatags that contain the particular keyword exceeds the predeterminedthreshold, comparing the particular keyword to the priority listingassociated with the first user.
 19. The method of claim 1, whereinproviding access to the second media content for presentation by thedisplay device comprises: retrieving, for a first real-time metadata tagextracted from the video packets of the second media content, apreferred action associated with the first real-time metadata tag fromthe priority table, wherein the priority table stores a plurality ofdifferent preferred actions associated with different real-time metadatatags; and determining whether to output an interactive user interface toallow a user selection of the second media content, or whether toautomatically output the second media content for presentation by thedisplay device without receiving a user selection of the second mediacontent, based on the preferred action associated with the extractedfirst real-time metadata tag.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein theplurality of different preferred actions associated with differentreal-time metadata tags stored in the priority table includes: a firstpreferred action to automatically switch the channel, associated withone or more real-time metadata tags stored in the priority table; asecond preferred action to display an interactive user interface toallow a user to switch the channel, associated with one or morereal-time metadata tags stored in the priority table; and a thirdpreferred action to turn on the output device, associated with one ormore real-time metadata tags stored in the priority table.